Henry Williams: Supreme Court Case

Henry Williams, an African American, was indicted for murder by an all white jury in 1896. The jury ruled that Williams was guilty and sentenced him to hanging. Williams argued that since the jury was strictly white and blacks had no chance of serving as a juror, the decision was fueled by racism. Williams then filed a motion that was denied soon after. He then took it upon himself to appeal his case to the Supreme Court.

Williams case was heard by the Mississippi Court of Appeals. The petition before the Supreme Court included the arguments of the plaintiff and the defendant. The plaintiff’s arguments were that Williams’ indicted violated his fourteenth amendment rights since Mississippi laws kept African American from serving on the jury.

The justices that voted in thisr decision were Melville Fuller, John M. Harlan, Horace Gray, David J. Brewer, Henry B. Brown, George Shiras, Jr., Edward D. White, Rufus W. Peckham, and Joseph McKenna. The majority opinion was written by Justice Mckenna. He stated that the poll taxes and literacy tests placed under the Mississippi Constitution “do not on their face discriminate between the races”. He also stated it has not been shown that their actual administration was evil; only that evil was possible under them.
There was not much dispute when it came to this case. All jurors were in full agreement with the decision made. Not one juror voted in favor of Henry Williams. They did not see anything wrong with the laws of Mississippi. However, this case did turn out to have a great amount of importance.

This case is relevant today because it pertains to the lack of voting equality in our nation. It also shows just how far we’ve come since then. Williams cleared a path for many people who were treated unfairly. Our nation has faced so many problems when it came to voting issues and this case was an ancient example. I feel as if this case still holds a strong impact on today’s